Tashi Wada

Biography
Tashi Wada (b. 1982) is a Los Angeles-based musician and composer. Born in New York, he studied composition at CalArts with James Tenney and performed for many years alongside his father, Yoshi Wada. His early music explored resonance and dissonance through alternative tuning systems and simple structures, while his recent work has expanded to incorporate song-like forms, improvisation, and ensemble playing. Wada has presented his music internationally and collaborated with musicians, artists, and ensembles including his partner Julia Holter, Charles Curtis, Simone Forti, and Harmonic Space Orchestra. He is the founder of the record label Saltern. His most recent album, What Is Not Strange?, was released by RVNG Intl. in 2024.

Residency project
At La Becque, Tashi Wada will research and develop a new musical project exploring enharmonic keyboards, their history, including early instrument designs, and their applications within his own music. As a composer and keyboardist with a longstanding interest in alternative tuning systems, Wada will investigate ways of translating extended tunings to the keyboard, combining theoretical research with practical experimentation. His residency will provide an opportunity to engage with historical approaches to tuning and instrument design while developing a new body of music based on these explorations.